My problem is our house is only 5 years old and we purchased it when it was 18 months old, it is on concrete stumps and when it was built it was not backfilled under the house once stumps were installed. Now we have 3 to 4 inches of water laying under the house for months after only 5mm of rain. The yard also floods. My builder is not interested in the issue and the building inspector has admitted that it is an issue but is not accepting any responsibility for not inspecting the property correctly and signing it off when it does not meet Aus standards. Looks like we will have to take legal action against them if we want them to pay or we spend the money ourselves and try to get it back later. I have been chasing this since November 2011, and still not getting any where. We now have the floorboards in the house buckling and tiles lifting in the bathrooms, and the kids will have to move out of their bedrooms in the next few weeks because of mould from the damp.

What I need to know is what is the best way to fill the subfloor area under the house from one access point to raise the underfloor level to be higher than the rest of the yard. I need to raise it by at least 100mm and rough measurements 30 to 40 square meters of fill needs to be used.

The whole underside of the house is lower than the yard, none of the stumps were backfilled, so finding 1 lowspot is very difficult. We dont have a storm water drain to top it off I have to somehow get it out into the street from a very flat 1/4 acre block.Cheers

Thanks. I have been advised that it does not meet Aus standards or BCA, but building inspector and builder take no responsibility.Problem is builder is in Western Aust and we are trying to deal with his wife, he does not come back to Vic and does not answer his phone. Builder is no longer in local area (burnt too many bridges) and is in no rush to help, hence the 8 month dely in getting anything done. I carn't let it go much longer or we wont be able to live in the house, so what can I do to stop water getting under house, house is rendered foam wall down to an 1 to 2 inches off the ground surface, floor is about 18 inches off the ground, no subfloor ventilation was installed so that will have to be done as well.

So I see my options as

1 Fill under house with concrete using a concrete pump. Stops water pooling under there.

If the builder is not contactable , make a claim with home owner's warranty insurer.

Your best bet is to cut off water source and that may mean external drainage, you should invest in professional opinion as it is more likely to give you cost effective solution than any free advice you get.

Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog

Thanks building-expert, we have contacted the insurer and they have said the builder is not dead, not insolvent and as long as he has an answering service he has not dissapeared so they will not pay out. Tryed 2 different builders and 2 different plummers got 4 different options but nothing they could reccommend, sort advice from building inspector / surveyer but would not give it as then he would have to addmitt he signed off on a building that he should not have.

We have made the discision now and are going to place a concrete path all the way around the house and slope the ground away and out to the street to help with water run off. Hopefully the path will stop the water getting under the house and we will have to install ventillation for the subfloor area.

Once all work is completed, we will have to take action and get the builder to cover costs as we can not wait any longer.We will also be writing letters to our local council (no controll of building serveyers in their area) and member of parliment about our disgust with the government departsment (consumer affairs, ombudsman, building commission) and their lack of action and support, lots of paperwork and talk but no results and a complete waste of breath.

Cheers

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